


Does It Feel Like Nothing Changed At All?

by thatapostateboy



Series: When Your Back's Against The Wall [3]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Recreational Drug Use, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-13 00:10:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10502361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatapostateboy/pseuds/thatapostateboy
Summary: Sam Ryder stops by the Hyperion med bay to see her brother, and decides to bust him out for a little adventure. He expects a trip on the Tempest, not getting high in some abandoned rooftop on the Nexus. But any time with his twin, and not Doc Carlyle is a bonus. Nostalgia and bonding ensues.





	

Scott’s data pad lit up as he received a new message. He flicked the screen to open it, smiling when he saw that it was from his sister.

_Docking at Nexus for a few hours. I’m swinging by to see you. Make sure you have pants on this time._

He chuckled as he typed out a reply.

_I make no promises. What happens in the privacy of my med bay is my business._

She replied instantly.

_I know you’ve spent the entirety of your time in Andromeda in that med bay, but you don’t own it. Wear. Pants._

  *~*~*

He sat himself up when the door slid open and Sam walked in. She shot him a smile, but went to talk to Harry first. He overheard her telling him that Lexi wanted to meet for a drink and a catch up, and that she’d keep an eye on Scott so he could take a break. She watched him leave then ran to Scott’s bedside.

“So you’re babysitting me now?” he asked.

“Better,” she grinned, “C’mon. We haven’t got long before Harry realises that Lexi isn’t here. I’m busting you out.”

He matched her smile and hauled himself out of bed. He had been out of his coma for weeks now, and he was sure that he was fit enough for duty again, but Harry always wanted to run just one more test to make sure. It was driving him mad. He was sick of the inside of this med bay, and he was even more sick of only getting to see his sister every few weeks when she had time to dock up at the Nexus. He missed her.

She grabbed hold of his hand and took off running, dragging him behind her, thankful for his long legs to keep up. She pulled him onto the tram, quickly tapping into the controls and shutting the doors before any of the other medical staff realised they were gone.

“You could have warned me that this was going to be a jail break,” he laughed, leaning against the wall as the tram started to move, “I at least could have packed a toothbrush.”

“Okay so it’s not as grand a break out as I wanted,” she said, “Lexi and Harry will both murder me if I try and smuggle you onto the Tempest. But we _are_ having the day together on the Nexus. I bet you haven’t even seen it properly yet, have you?”

“Knew your grand plan was too good to be true,” he smirked, but gave her a smile, “Any time out of that med bay is heaven. Harry won’t let me off the Hyperion. Trust me, I’ve tried to sneak off before but Doc always catches me.”

“The infamous Hot Shot Ryder can’t even sneak out of a med bay. Your skills are slipping.”

“My skills are perfectly intact, thank you, but Harry never sleeps. For a guy who works round the clock keeping my ass alive, the man doesn’t need to sleep. And he scares the shit out of me. Like doesn’t look that tough, but he’s got an ‘I’ve got access to all the drugs in the world, kid, so sit your ass down’ kind of vibe.”

She laughed at that, rolling her eyes as she reached into her bag. She grabbed something and flung it at him and he flailed in an attempt to catch it. It was big, and soft, and he quickly realised that it was his Initiative hoody, the matching one to Sam’s. Hers was grey and blue, his was grey and green. He pulled it on, flashing her a smile.

“Where the hell did you find this?” he asked.

“Found it in your locker when you were in your coma. Doc wouldn’t let me put it on you, said it would get in the way of blood tests or whatever so I kept it. Thought you’d want it back.”

He watched her for a moment, knowing she was trying to play it cool. She didn’t need to say it, he knew that she’d worn it. Of the few news vids he’d seen of her wearing her civvies and not her armour, she had been wearing his hoody, not hers, obviously too big, especially when combined with the leather jacket that she had adopted as well, which had been their father’s.

“Sammy,” he said, catching her eye, “Thanks.”

He thought about giving her a hug, but the tram slid to a stop, and before he knew it he was being dragged along again, tripping over his feet to keep up with her. They sped down unused halls of the Nexus, filled only with a few people trying to fix up damage.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

She yanked him into one of the abandoned apartments, pointing to the gaping hole in the roof of it. She quickly clambered up into it without another word, and he begrudgingly followed her. She led him along twists and turns, climbing through vents, through broken wiring and ducking through various unfixed holes. Finally, they clambered up through the final layer, and he realised exactly what she’d brought him here for.

From their view, they could see all of the Nexus, looking down over what would have been the main commons area, stretching all the way to the docks and beyond as the station curved in various directions.

She sat herself down, legs dangling over the edge of the apartment building they were on, and he sat beside her, letting out a low whistle.

“What a view,” he said.

“Not the best one in Andromeda, but it’s a start,” she nodded.

“Looks like the Citadel,” he pointed out, “A little taste of home.” He laughed softly, “Do you remember that time we tried to climb to the top of the Presidium?”

She smiled, “We would have made it too if that cop hadn’t caught us.”

“That guy really had it out for us. Always on our ass about something. Always ratting us out to Mom and Dad. I hated that turian. What was his name?”

“Vakarian,” she reminded him, “Garrus Vakarian, I think. Always there to pull your ass out of a fight though.”

“He was a good guy, even let us off that one time he caught us stoned and stuffing our faces with Mom’s meatball burgers on the Krogan memorial.”

She snorted with laughter, then reached into her bag again, “Speaking of.”

She handed him a warm bag, and as he opened it, he was hit with a delicious smell, “Holy shit, are these what I think they are?”

“Yup, Mom’s meatball burgers. They’re not the same as how she used to make them, not exactly any fresh meat around here, but I gave it a go,” she said, putting her own beside her before she pulled something else out of her bag, “There’s no Krogan memorial around here, but…”

“Where in the hell did you get drugs out here?” he asked as she started to roll it out.

“Procured it from a pair of stoners living out in the badlands on Kadara. They had their priorities right,” she smiled, lighting the joint and handing it to him. They smoked together in silence, looking out over the station, happy and buzzed in each other’s company. They ate their burgers, laughing as they both tried not to make a mess.

“Well,” Scott grinned, “They might not taste of any sort of real meat, but you got the sauce right.”

“Not that you’d be able to taste it, it’s all over your face Hot Shot.” It was true enough, he’d managed to get more of the sauce around his mouth than he had in it. She reached into her bag and threw a napkin at him.

“Thanks Mom,” he rolled his eyes, wiping his face and throwing it back at her. She gave him a kick in the shin, but their smiles faded together and they looked at each other. “I miss Mom,” he admitted quietly.

“So do I,” she said, “Every day there’s something new I want to tell her… She would have loved it out here.”

“She would have cooked up a batch of soup and had me out of a coma in an hour,” he hummed with laughter. She looked at him, and she knew that he was hurting.

Of the two of them, he had been the closest to their mother. Though neither of them were close to their father, Alec had always seemed to favour her, something she had never wanted and always worried Scott would resent her for, but it had just meant that Ellen had compensated and given Scott a bit more attention; encouraged his work as an engineer whilst Alec still wanted both of his kids to be trained Alliance soldiers. When she died, Scott broke down, barely left his room, barely ate. So she’d put all of her efforts into taking care of him. She dealt with her own grief by helping him through his. He’d gotten better, and went back to his usual tactic of deflecting it with humour, something she could see right through.

“What do you think she would have made of all this?” she asked, “Andromeda, Dad, me being the Pathfinder…”

“She would have moved onto the Tempest, with my unconscious ass in tow to make sure everyone was well fed, and ready to go planetside with you to keep you safe,” he smiled, then glanced at her, letting out a sigh, “You’re right, she would have loved it out here. She was a scientist, she’d be out learning everything she could. And she’d be proud of you, Sammy. You know she would. So would Dad. I know I am.”

Her eyebrows raised, “What?”

“I’m proud of you, Sammy,” he said, “I don’t know how the hell you’re doing it, but you’ve risen to the shit show of a challenge Dad left for you. You’re making a difference out there, you’re saving people, changing lives, you’re making Heleus a home. I couldn’t have done it if the roles were reversed. I’d have left it to Cora and hid in the engine room until you woke up… So yeah, I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes glazed over with tears and she threw her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back, even resisting the urge to move the hug into a headlock and give her a noogie.

“You tell anyone I cried, I’ll start sending your embarrassing baby pictures to all of the cute guys in Andromeda,” she smiled as she pulled away, wiping her wet cheeks with the sleeve of her hoody.

He laughed, “So you’ve been keeping an eye out for me?”

“Got a lonely heart waiting for you on every planet,” she smiled.

“How have things been going for you on that end?” he asked, “Anyone caught your eye?”

“Okay, now _you_ sound like Mom,” she pointed out, then gave a shrug, “I mean, my crew is the most stunningly beautiful group of people I’ve ever seen gathered in a confined space before, but there’s not really…” she trailed off, thinking through every moment since she’d gotten here.

She’d pretty much spent it flirting with anyone that would listen, which had resulted in a one night stand on a beat up couch with Liam, a very interesting evening in a zero gravity escape pod with Peebee, a heavy makeout with Reyes against a bunch of crates to distract a guard, and a seemingly blossoming relationship with Vetra, the woman of her dreams.

“ _Jesus_ Sammy,” he watched her go red in the face.

“It’s a new galaxy, everyone’s very… _friendly_ ,” she snorted with laughter.

“I bet they are,” he matched her laugh, but dropped the subject. She wouldn’t tell him anyway, lest he be the embarrassing younger brother and try and tell childhood stories to whoever had caught her fancy. He watched her for a moment and felt an ache in his heart at just how much he had missed her.

Back in the Milky Way, they were inseparable. They’d grown up together, trained together, he even transferred from his post guarding a relay to be security for her dig team. It was dull work, but it was worth it to be together. And then when their mom died, they had been the only comfort for each other. Their dad had been inconsolable, throwing himself into his work, so they had looked to each other instead. They had come to Andromeda for a fresh start, away from the taint that Alec had put on the Ryder name, so they could be a family again, and if not; they were going to make the Ryder name one to be proud of. But then everything had gone wrong, he had been in a coma, Alec had died and suddenly Sam was all alone. That was one of his worst fears, being cut off from his twin, he didn’t know if he could have coped if it was the other way round.

“You keeping a bunk ready for me on the Tempest for when you smuggle me out properly?” he asked.

“Of course,” she nodded, “Even if I didn’t, I think Gil would give up his bed and sleep in the Nomad at the chance to get you on board.”

“Your engineer?” he frowned.

“I might have oversold your skills as an engineer to convince him that you’d be a great addition to the team. He’s now very eager to meet you. He, and I quote, ‘is looking forward to the challenge of another Ryder on board’.”

“Is he cute?” he grinned.

“Gorgeous.”

“Does he-”

“Yeah, he likes guys.”

“So you’ve got a handsome gay engineer who wants to meet me, and you haven’t introduced me yet?”

“And he likes poker.”

Scott let out a soft groan and led back on the roof, putting his hands over his face, “You have the man of my dreams on your ship. What sort of shitty luck did I have that I’ve been in a coma this whole time.”

She led back next to him, “Well, you’re back now, and if Harry doesn’t sign you off for duty by the next time I’m back here, I’m busting you out. Hide you in a crate and wait till we’re too deep in space so Lexi can’t send you back… I’ve missed having my little brother around.”

They talked for a little while longer, reminiscing about their childhood before they both drifted off to sleep. It was hours later that Harry and Lexi finally found them, and more or less dragged them back to the med bay for a thorough talking to. They’d sat next to each other on his bunk, trying not to laugh, unable to look at each other for fear for bursting out into a fit of giggles and receiving an even worse lecture from their doctors.

Eventually, they had to say goodbye, exchanging hugs and promises to see each other soon. It was late that night when she couldn’t sleep that she received a message from him.

_Thank you for today, I needed it. Doc’s got me on a strict regime of god knows what to detox me from the space weed. 100% worth it._

She smiled, tapping out a reply.

_Lexi’s doing the same to me. It’s only been one night and Vetra’s already sneaking me snacks. 100% worth it. Get some sleep. I’ll see you soon, Hot Shot._


End file.
